80/35 Schedule – Let’s Fight the Conflicts Together


(Here is The River Monks video for “I Am A Lake” shot by the good people at DEFT.)

Last week 80/35 released their schedule. When I first read it, it seemed kind of cut and dry as to which shows I would go to, so I didn’t think the column would be necessary. But now that I have actually sat down to officially plan out my schedule, it turns out there are a few absolutely brutal conflicts. So, let’s power through this together.

Don’t have tickets to 80/35, yet? How dare you.

If you do decide to head down and just go to the free stages (which I would support because those stages are awesome), please buy your beer there and maybe an 80/35 t-shirt. Or even just donate $10 to the Greater Des Moines Music Coalition. They are a non-profit, afterall, and I would like them to continue doing this each year.

Here is the full schedule, in chronological order, for your reference. 80/35 also has an app you can download if your phone is not a bunch of garbage (Incidentally, a solid fuck off to US Cellular for changing the date of my eligibility and destroying their phone pricing model, but I’m digressing) (MS – Main Stage, KG – Kum and Go Stage, HV – Hy Vee Stage)

FRIDAY, JULY 4

12:00 p.m. Brother Trucker -MS
12:00 p.m. Quick Piss –KG
12:00 p.m. M34n Str33t HV
12:45 p.m. Fury Things – KG
1:00 p.m. Fire Sale HV
1:30 p.m. Gloom Balloon – MS
1:45 p.m. Chicago Farmer – KG
2:00 p.m. TWINS HV
2:45 p.m. TREE – KG
3:15 p.m. Dawes – MS
3:00 p.m. Cirrus Minor HV
3:45 p.m. Circle of Heat – KG
4:00 p.m. Bonne Finken HV
4:45 p.m. Black Diet – KG
5:00 p.m. Best Coast – MS
5:00 p.m. GoodcaT HV
5:45 p.m. Pert Near Sandstone – KG
6:00 p.m. MAIDS HV
6:45 p.m. The Hooten Hallers – KG
6:45 p.m. Ziggy Marley – MS
7:00 p.m. Max Jury HV
8:00 p.m. Surfer Blood – KG
8:00 p.m. The River Monks HV
9:00 p.m. Conor Oberst – MS

SATURDAY, JULY 5

12:00 p.m. Boy & Bear MS
12:00 p.m. Dat Dude Biggz KG
12:00 p.m. Volcano Boys HV
12:45 p.m. Har-di-Har KG
1:00 p.m. Zeta June HV
1:45 p.m. Soap KG
1:45 p.m. Raz Simone MS
2:00 p.m. Foxholes HV
2:45 p.m. Shy Boys KG
3:00 p.m. Kris Adams HV
3:15 p.m. The Envy Corps MS
3:45 p.m. Useful Jenkins KG
4:00 p.m. James Biehn HV
4:45 p.m. The Whigs KG
5:00 p.m. Parlours HV
5:00 p.m. Xavier Rudd MS
5:45 p.m. Caroline Smith KG
6:00 p.m. Aquamarine Dream Machine HV
6:45 p.m. King Fantastic KG
7:00 p.m. Holy White Hounds HV
7:00 p.m. Dr. Dog MS
8:00 p.m. Those Darlins KG
8:00 p.m. The Maytags HV
9:00 p.m. Cake MS

(I didn’t include the late night shows because sadly, I will not be in attendance for them. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go, if that’s what you desire.)

So let’s talk this out, and maybe we can figure this out together. It will be okay. It will all be okay.

M34N STR33T vs Brother Trucker vs Quick Piss – July 4 Noon

The festival kicks off with three quality bands in three different genres. M34N STR33T is a hip hop act from Omaha, Quick Piss is grimy punk and Brother Trucker is good old-fashioned rock and roll. I really like all three, but I sort of feel like I can see some version of Brother Trucker a lot this summer, so if its a three way tie, sadly they’re probably out. The remaining two are super unique and I’m having a tough time picking. I would really like to see the show with the full projection art, though, and I worry that at noon, M34N STR33T aren’t going to have that element. But Quick Piss is playing an aftershow with Surfer Blood that I hope I can go to. It’s a tough call.

WINNER – Quick Piss

Surfer Blood vs The River Monks – July 4 8pm

Three months ago and this is a no brainer. Surfer Blood are awesome and they rarely come through here, if ever. The River Monks are a local, and they get gigs, so I could miss them and not fret. It’s just that River Monks put out the album that I am listening to more than any other right now, and I sort of feel I should see them play stuff off of it. Again, Surfer Blood is playing an aftershow, so I could conceivably just go to that, but I really like Surfer Blood. Guh, this one is going to hurt.

WINNER – Surfer Blood

Raz Simone vs Foxholes – July 5 145/2pm

The hip-hop acts have all been revelations this year. TREE, King Fantastic, Dat Dude Biggz, Kris Adams and M34N STR33T all have a ton of ability. The best of the bunch might be Raz Simone, a no-nonsense writer who speaks from the heart and from the soul. Foxholes have been a revelation themselves, bursting onto the scene with a riff and a yell. Maybe the toughest call of the fest and one I will probably catch a little of both. If I have to choose one, though, I think I know which way to go.

WINNER – Foxholes

The Whigs vs Xavier Rudd – July 5 454/5pm

I normally wouldn’t be that into a guy who appeals to the jam crowd, but Xavier Rudd is different. His sound is so unique and his live show sounds incredible due to the sheer amount of instruments and sounds he makes by himself. The Whigs are getting a lot of press and they have this classic rock grind to them that makes them special. Solid choice either way.

WINNER – Xavier Rudd

King Fantastic vs Dr. Dog vs Holy White Hounds – July 5 645/7pm

Three tough choices. I will probably catch the first few minutes of King Fantastic, so that may suffice, but they are so good. At 7 both Holy White Hounds and Dr. Dog play. Every Dr. Dog song I have heard I have liked, but Holy White Hounds are really putting together an awesome live show. I regret missing their turn at GDP, so I may have to rectify that here. The problem with the whole national vs local is that the locals really go all out for 80/35, so you can’t always just say “I will catch them another time” because another time won’t be as special. This feels like a set that is going to be special. Fuck it, going with my gut.

WINNER – Dr. Dog

So Friday looks like: Quick Piss, Fury Things, Gloom Balloon, TWINS, TREE, Dawes, Bonne Finken, Best Coast, Maids, Ziggy Marley, Surfer Blood, Conor Oberst

And for Saturday: Boy & Bear, Har-di-Har, Raz Simone, Foxholes, Envy Corps, James Biehn, The Whigs, Xavier Rudd, Caroline Smith, King Fantastic, Dr. Dog, Those Darlins, Cake

Best laid plans and all that, though, right? We will see where the days take me in just under two weeks.

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June 24, 2014
Categories: DMMC, Iowa . . Author: Dave Murphy . Comments: Leave a comment

Review: Emily Reo, Tires, Cuddle Formation and Ramona Muse @ Des Moines Social Club

2014-06-21 20.27.45

That’s a wallet I bought from Cuddle Formation. It’s pink and has stars. On the inside is scrawled “Balance: LOL” and “PIN: 6969420”. This is my wallet now. The one I use everyday to house my driver’s license and health insurance card and such is pink and has stars and says “Balance: LOL”. I threw away my brown leather wallet and transferred all of my identification and other personal effects into this wallet. I am almost 34 years old.

I have a problem where I forget just how old I am. This has been a long-standing issue where I don’t realize just how a person of my age and responsibilities should behave. In my teens, I still collected toys. In my twenties I worried and fretted about what people I went to high school thought about me. Now, I often forget that I am in my thirties with two kids and no job. Time just moves quicker than I realize.

Here is the thing about mental age: the rest of the world just keeps right on spinning. Time refuses to stand still, even if you do. People change and expect you to have done the same. People get older, sometimes they pass, and as you age you have to realize that more and more of the people you grew up with are gone, if not physically then they are different people than they were, and you probably should grow, too. Your possessions increase and so do your responsibilities, which then means that your possessions need to change to match your responsibilities and if you remain attached to things to showcase your youth while also trying to match your responsibilities you suddenly have a house full of crap you don’t really need. Even if you want to pretend you’re still 22, the rest of the world expects you to be 34. There are certain expectations of what a mid-thirties father should probably be. He should be working towards something, and should be well on his way to getting there. He should already have a moderate amount of success and should be parlaying that success into even more success so his family doesn’t have want or need.

That’s the dream, right? Or at least that’s my dream. To be as aged as the rest of the world sees me and needs me to be so my family can always be taken care of. I suppose the real dream is that the world just leaves me be and I can somehow co-exist with what I want to be and what I have to be to make sure my family is always taken care of, but the sad reality is that you need to have some sort of conformity. I need to give up the some of the trappings of youth and just get with the program. To grow and understand just what my position in life should be, but I often fall back into the trap of immaturity. I feel like once I realize that I am an adult and also how to be an adult I can then go be an adult.

It’s thoughts like that that lead you to going to shows with the fight of being in your thirties but wanting to behave like you’re in your mid-twenties. You overcompensate. You go with the thought that you can experience art, but you end up networking. You go with the idea that you can write things like:

“Cuddle Formation has a sound that differs from their band name. To me, I expected bouncy, peppy and happy. Maybe even cartoony. But it turns out it is weird, ambient and slightly dark. Also, beautiful as Cuddle Formation plays with noise, sound and light in a way that brings out a pulchritude that you wouldn’t expect. Maybe just an appreciation and joy of beauty that can bring people together. Maybe they’ll even embrace because of it. Huh, I guess Cuddle Formation is apt, afterall.”

And actually get swept up in that thought and not just write it. (It’s true, by the way.)

Instead, you spend a whole lot of time analyzing why you’re there and not trying to find a job and being insular when you should appreciate what you have in front of you. You end up envying Ramona Muse because of the freedom and confidence she exudes and then almost cursing her for the same things because you are no longer young and free and are super jealous. You end up missing a dynamic talent like Emily Reo so you can talk to someone who could potentially impact your career aspirations, whatever they may be. You worry that Tires is going to destroy your hearing instead of being excited that Tires is going to destroy your hearing (thanks to legendary and award-winning Iowa concert goer Andrew Smith for giving me an extra pair of ear plugs. They were needed.) You have constant internal debates as to whether the money for cover, beers and one accidental over-priced bourbon (C’mon, Bulliet is like the same price per bottle as Jameson, no way it should be four dollars more per glass) could’ve been better spent on things like toilet paper and applesauce. Then sometimes after consuming those drinks your brain revolts with this being old bullshit and you buy a pink wallet with cartoon stars. LOL.

It is the balance that needs to be achieved. Aging is fine, and should be understood and accepted, but not at a complete loss of what makes you you. If I could offer one piece of advice to a graduating class it would be, “Live in the now, appreciate the then and anticipate what will be.” But this mindset doesn’t happen immediately. It has to be developed, cultured and nurtured. If you push too quickly into it, you buy a wallet that is pink and has stars and says “6969420” instead of household goods so you can rage against what the world needs you to be in the silliest way possible.

I woke the next day completely embarrassed by my purchase, but I realize now that there has to be that balance. That I still have a little bit of that immaturity to me while trying to improve. So, I’m going to keep it as my wallet. I wanted that wallet, so I have that wallet. It will be my link to the past as I move toward the future. A reminder of the person I was and the person I am and the person I will be. I did end up scribbling over the inside stuff, because I am for sure too old to have a wallet that says “6969420”.

June 22, 2014
Categories: Iowa, Show Reviews . . Author: Dave Murphy . Comments: Leave a comment